Day 8 - A tool to help with my happiness project

As promised, I wanted to talk about the tool that I plan on using to help me keep my happiness project on track.  Gretchen Rubin used a chart that she tracked her resolutions with, and this tool is similar.  It is one that I have mentioned before, as I have been using since January to help with goal setting and tracking.  It is Lara Casey's powersheets, and I LOVE them.  I pre-ordered her new one year workbook, and I can't wait to use them again next year!  If you aren't familiar, they are worksheets that are designed for goal setting and are broken down into monthly, weekly, and daily sections.  I plan on organizing my resolutions into the appropriate sections and then using the worksheets as a checklist.  For example, in the month of November, I have "write a blog post" in the daily checklist section and "send an encouraging note to someone" in the weekly section.  I also tape these worksheets to my wall by my bed so that I see them often and can be thinking about my resolutions every time I do so.  Personally, I think you should check them out, happiness project or not, because they are a useful tool for anyone who wants to keep on track with goals, projects, and baby steps towards their big-picture goals and dreams.  Love me some powersheets!

Day 7 - thoughts on my happiness project after one week.

So it has been seven days since I started my HP and it has been good so far.  I am glad that I have managed to blog every day ( well, it has only been a week) and while I wouldn't say that my happiness has increased, I do feel a sense of satisfaction for keeping up with what I said I would do.  I think that as I continue to write throughout the month, it will become easier for me as right now, the words kind of stick in my brain and don't come out the way that I am thinking.  (That last sentence is a perfect example.)  I will be glad when I finish my "book" although as I write it, I realize what a lofty goal it was, and a bigger undertaking than I expected.  I also am in the camp of done is better than perfect when it comes to blogging, but I know that isn't the way you should write a book if you are taking it seriously.  And while I do take the subject matter seriously, I have no dreams of being published, so I think it works for me.  Tomorrow I am planning on posting about the tool that I think will help me keep on task with my happiness project.

Day 6 - How God Uses Waiting - Part 2

Another way that God uses waiting is to teach us to become dependent on Him.  This is similar to intimacy, but it goes a step further, to not just know Him deeply, but to trust Him even more so.  It is a place where we let go of what we are holding on to, and instead lean into Him.  God wants us to be fully dependent on him, because that is when He is most glorified.  It is His accomplishments, His work, His efforts that cause us to reach our goals.  We can then see clearly how trusting in the Lord is the safest place for our dreams because He alone can make them come true.  Part of being dependent on God is trusting His plan for the outcome, and believing that God will give us what is best for us.  Another part is trusting that the time we are waiting is also for our good - it is a process by which we learn what we are made of, which is the third part of how God uses waiting.

Day 5 - Why I keep a gratitude journal

November is the month of gratitude.  When thanksgiving rolls around, we really start to focus on things that we are grateful for.  I have found that gratitude is something we should practice daily.  When you are having a bad day, or you feel like nothing is going the way that it should, it can be easy to focus on your problems.  When you choose to practice gratitude, even for the little things, it can really start to change your perspective.  Choosing to focus on the things you are thankful for, the things that are blessings in your life, can give you an attitude shift and can change your day around.  We are also called to give thanks in everything. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says " rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. "  I have been keeping a gratitude journal for about four years now.  I was originally inspired by Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, and I have found that as I have listed out the blessings in my life, both big and small, it has really helped me look for contentment during difficult times.  It keeps my eyes open for the good things in my life, and gives me an expectant attitude towards feeling grateful.  I think that keeping a list of things you are thankful for is a great thing to practice, and I would definitely recommend it.  Why not start now, during the month of November?  Its a great time to begin!

Day 4 - Real Life :: Having a Band-aid Party or Bribing Your Kids to Get a Shot

Today my kids are getting their flu shots at school.  They are not crazy about shots and they are not happy that I am making them get them done at school.  I tried to explain to them that the point of the flu shot is to help prevent them from getting the flu.  I told them about how terrible it is, and that they would be really sick for quite a few days.  I pointed out that the quick pinch of a shot is a lot less painful than days of body aches, chills, and nausea.  They still didn't want the shot.  So I gave up on the practical wisdom of the benefits of the flu-shot, and instead told them that we are having a band-aid party when they get home.

I told them that I am going to go to Walgreens today and get myself a flu shot, and then I am going to stock up on a bunch of boxes of band-aids.  When everyone gets home, we are going to make popcorn, plaster ourselves with a bunch of band-aids all over,pop some popcorn, and watch a movie.  They were THRILLED when I told them this idea.  Charlotte told me she couldn't wait to get her shot so that she could come home and have a band-aid party with me.  Rory, the one that was the most defiant about getting the shot, told me that she was excited to have the band-aid party too.  I said " well, no, you can't have the party with us, because you already told me you aren't getting a flu shot".  "Well maybe I will" she mumbled.  Success.

Day 3 - How God Uses Waiting - Part 1

How God Uses Waiting - Part 1

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" Psalm 27:14

God has a plan for every part of your life, and He is in control of the big and the small.  When things aren't going according to our plan, to our timetable, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture.  It puts us at a crossroads where we can choose to walk away from truth and try to accomplish things on our own strength, or we can choose to trust.  

Abraham was told that he would be a father of nations, but he was unsure how this could be because Sarah was barren.  So Sarah and Abraham devised a plan that Abraham would father a child through one of Sarah's servants, Hagar.  However, this resulted in enmity between Sarah and Hagar, and Hagar and her child lost and dying in a desert.  This was not the plan that God had in mind, and this was not the child that God was going to establish His covenant with.  If Abraham and Sarah had not taken matters into their own hands, and instead waited upon the Lord, things would have turned out a lot differently.

Waiting has purpose.  If we choose to trust Him, we will experience so much joy, even in the hard waiting season.  We will experience intimacy with Christ that can only be experienced through true surrender.  This means that we let go of what we are waiting for, longing for, and instead place it in His capable hands.  By saying to God " I choose you over my hopes and dreams" we enter into a place of closeness and even freedom.  We don't have to control the outcome.  We don't have to make sure all the pieces fit or the stars align.  All we have to do is trust that the Creator of the universe has a plan for our life, and walk the road that He has shown us.  And as we walk, He walks with us.  We don't have to go through our waiting season alone.  He is right there beside us.  We can experience the joy of knowing Christ intimately and see how He blesses us even when life is so hard.  He does want to bless us.  He wants us to know the joy that comes through trusting in Him alone, and He wants us to experience the freedom that comes from surrender and intimacy with Him.  Sometimes the answer to our prayer doesn't look like what we had hoped for or expected it, but it is so much better when it is from the Lord and not our own striving.

"And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:11

Day 2 - Introduction to The Waiting Season

Over the next thirty days, I am going to blog every day - a little bit of everything, but one of the things that I really want to do is finish my book.  I am not sure how great it will come out, but I will feel a lot better having finished it.  

-the waiting season-

::encouragement and hope for when time seems to stand still::

Introduction.


"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
There is a time for every matter under heaven, but what about when it feels like that time will never come?  When it feels like the season we are in will last forever and we are stuck in a holding pattern, unsure of the next move?  Is there even anywhere to go from here?  What do we do when all we can do is wait?

Waiting is hard.  It oftentimes feels so passive, and it is beyond our control.  It feels like there is nothing for us to do but wait for the clock to turn, the letter to come, the phone to ring, the day to finally arrive.  In the meantime, we ask ourselves what is the purpose in this?  What is the point of waiting?   Why can't I have that house/car/baby that I have been dreaming of for so long?  Why is God allowing me to unemployed for this amount of time?  Why do I have to just sit and watch and wait, while others seem to "have it all"?

People (myself included) often think that when they get that house, have that baby, start the new job, own their own successful business - THAT is when their lives will begin.  However, it is during the waiting - the in-between - where life happens.  This is where growth takes place and this is what God uses to make us who we are meant to be.  The waiting season looks different for everyone, and I hope this book helps us to explore how God uses waiting to grow us in our relationship with Him and how it helps us become more like Christ.

I wrote this book for me as much as I did for you.  The idea was born in a hard season of waiting in my personal life.  As I write this, I am still in that place and trying to keep my eyes on Jesus rather than my circumstances.  This is no easy task, but perhaps if we dig a little deeper, we can find that God has great purpose for our waiting seasons.  I want this book to be a source of encouragement and hope when you are questioning God's plan for your life.  I hope that this book is a tool to point you back to who Jesus is and what He has already done for us to remind you that He can be trusted with your life.